Photos: Australian broadband coverage

Summary: With a fierce battle raging over Australia's broadband future and how bush users should be connected, regulators have weighed in to produce a state of nation report into the country's communications infrastructure and how well consumers are being served by their providers.

There are now 412 exchange locations enabled with ADSL2+, the report revealed, with some non metropolitan areas getting a look-in. ADSL2+ services are available in regional centres including Dubbo, Horsham, Newcastle, Port Augusta, Townsville and Traralgon.

According to the report, as of June 2006, there were 1.6 million 3G users in Australia, from a total mobile population of 19.7 million. The number of third generation users is expected to increase dramatically -- Telstra is planning to close its 2G CDMA network from next January.